


"Rumours" - Linsday Lohan (2004)

by Anonymous



Series: One [2]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-17 11:17:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13075746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: When the law man says the nightmare never ends they mean it.





	1. Back in the Hole

Akira is determined for the next day to not go completely off the rails. He was sent to Tokyo to live an honest life and he’ll make it happen. Akira gets to class on time, stays awake for the most part, and meets Ryuji on the rooftop after school. 

“Hey you wanna get ramen? I know a place.”

Akira squints as something comes to mind. “The place in Ogikubo? Light broth’s their specialty?”

“Yeah.” Ryuji whispers, smile draining from his face. “How did you…?”

He stops himself. 

Yesterday had been a mess. Akira is a bit of a mess. When their turbo legs had gotten them out of the castle Ryuji had, for lack of a better way to describe it, fallen out of him.

There was no transition to speak of, and he was still struggling to get his leg mastery back.

“So do you think it was like Dragonball fusion or something?” 

It’s a bit alarming to hear Ryuji talking shop right off the bat. Akira quickly glances around the train. 

Akira shrugs. “The last thing I remember is grabbing your hand.”

“Oh that’s way easier than a fusion dance.”

Out the corner of his eye Akira spies some kids with the latest Jump look their way. “Let’s talk about it later.”

Ryuji’s eyes narrow. “We’re gonna go back there. You’re not trying to worm your way out are you?”

“No,” Akira sways a bit. Figures that he wouldn’t have his train legs yet. “Just… not on the train y’know?”

Ryuji’s face softens immediately, a blush tinges his cheeks. “Yeah that’s a good idea.”

“Anyway,” he recovers. “How’s Tokyo so far, country boy?”

Akira sticks his tongue out.

Ramen is a stress-free affair. Right after school lets out isn’t a really a peak meal time for non-students. There’s no queue for the restaurant, but there’s just enough people inside to get some good ambient noise going.

“You’re free tomorrow yeah?”

“Yeah,” Akira twiddles a bit of his fringe absentmindedly.

What happened feels like a distant dream, one that Akira can’t wait to be rid of. Becoming one being. It’s fantastic enough that he can keep the idea a comfortable distance away. What happened could not have been real.

However the memory of what happened is also fresh enough that entertaining Ryuji’s idea figuring things out… Feels not good.

When he hits Shibuya station he spots a tall blond figure in the station. A good portion of Shibuya is blond and tall so it’s probably nothing.

A flash of red tights is enough to pull him out of his thoughts.

“That’s not what you promised!”

Akira walks towards her.

She hangs up the phone and her eyes lock onto Akira. “What are you looking at?”

Caught. “Are you okay?” He asks.

Something flares in her eyes before dying out. “I was out of line. I need to go.”

Let her be, he can let her be. Or he can let his nose for trouble do what it does best.

He takes off in a sprint, leaping down the escalator. Escalator going the wrong way if the scandalised gasps of the people he’s running into are any indication.

In the walkway he keeps his eyes sharp for blond hair and red tights and ah. 

Crouching by the aojiru stand. Akira slides over, at this point it feels like his body is on autopilot.

He crouches down next to Ann, she doesn’t look up.

“Go away.”

“Let’s go somewhere safe?” He offers.

She stands up and nods.

***

“He told me to come to his house.”

Ann avoids looking at him. “I’ve never felt more disgusted in my life.”

“But he said if I don’t Shiho will lose her place on the starting line-up.” 

Akira grips fistfuls of his trousers.

Ann looks up at him for the first time since they entered Big Bang Burger, he can’t look away. She stares him down. “What should I do? Shiho is all I have but if I go there…”

Ann looks away first. “I’m sorry that wasn’t fair.”

None of it is fair. What does he even say?

“But y’know I kind of feel better after talking to you.”

She smiles at him and this is the most disoriented he’s been. After all the rumours and classmates jumping to get out of his way, Akira forgot that he isn’t actually complete human garbage. 

Ann’s eyes haze. “I know what rumours are like. You’ve probably heard a few when people take a break from gossiping about you. I bet you’re not that bad.”

“The baddest,” Akira fires back, grabbing at that lifeline. “I heard I killed a man once.”

Ann’s jaw drops, she bursts into laughter. 

“I wish this would all just disappear.” She says when she calms down.

“It just might.” The goblin in Akira hisses. His hands jump to cover his mouth. 

“What was that?”

Akira shakes his head keeping his hands on his mouth lest the goblin speak again.

Ann raises an eyebrow. “You’re weird, but I feel better after talking to you.” She grabs her complimentary water, “I have to go, you take care okay?”

With that, she leaves Akira to his large fries.

The first few ideas that hit him are all wildly illegal and not worth mentioning. There’s proper channels they can do this through, maybe seek an adult. He doesn’t have to get charged with assault and kicked out of school again.

_“The police are my bitches!”_

Akira gasps and freezes. 

He grabs his fries and heads to the station. His hands ache.

It’s still a little early by the time Akira returns to Leblanc. 

“Hey kid, can you help with dishes? I’m busy with customers.”

Any other day Akira may have made a fuss. On this early evening he can’t wait to throw himself into something mindless. 

When he finishes the dishes, finishes his homework for the day, Akira lays in bed pleasantly numb. 

This is what he’ll be in Tokyo, a well-behaved young man who helps with chores, does his homework, and goes to bed early. 

Ryuji, Ann, yellow eyes, a cruel grin.

Akira’s own bruised ribs.

He clutches the duvet tight and closes his eyes.


	2. Deeper Still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not great being some cosmic punching bag, but Akira is learning to handle that beast.

“The principle lets in some filth with a record and _of course_ Sakamoto befriends him immediately.”

Kamoshida goes back to the papers on his desk. “It was only a matter of time until someone took out the trash. I think I’ll bring it up at the next board meeting.”

Mishima drops to his knees. Ryuji raises his fist. 

Before Akira knows it he grabs Ryuji’s hand.

“What-“ Ryuji looks ready to turn that fist on him.

“He’ll get his.” The goblin in Akira says, tone void of anything.

***

Whatever fire Akira had earlier evaporated as fast as it ignited. 

Expulsion.

So this is how it’s gonna be every time forever. Clearly it was more to do with him than his environment. No one else he knows keeps ending up in these situations.

Maybe he really is bad. If he wasn’t bad this wouldn’t happen to him, right? How else was he on the train to expulsion again within mere days of moving?

“Hey man are you listening?”

Akira yelps as Ryuji’s hand dives into his back pocket, grabbing his phone. 

“I told you I thought I heard your navi saying something when we left last time.” 

Everything that happened since he got to school felt like some horrible distant dream. Since he came to Tokyo really.

Since that dark night.

‘This is dumb’ he nearly says. 

It must show in his face because right then Ryuji turns to face him.

“Look it’s a long shot but you heard Mishima. It’s shitty but this is all we got.” Ryuji puts a hand on his shoulder. He’s smiling, but there’s a crinkle in his eyes that doesn’t fit.

Akira scours his mind for any kind of response but nothing’s coming. The situation they’re in is just that stupid. They have to rely on a crazy dream world to indict a high school volleyball coach. Somehow.

He takes his phone back. The app that he deleted several times is right there on the home screen. 

Tap. Pervy teacher, school, castle. 

Tap. Go.

This time they’re standing right outside the school and Akira wonders how they didn’t notice something was off the first time they came to the castle.

Dark purple cloud roll in casting them in darkness. The school shimmers and melts away, in jarring contrast the volleyball rally banners stay intact. Sandstone bricks take over concrete. Once again, they stand before the king’s castle.

They both gawp at it for a while. Now that they’re not in immediate peril, and can take in the sights. 

“So,” Ryuji says, turning a wary eye to Akira. “You said you held my hand?”

Akira looks away, puffing his cheeks and crossing his arms. “Shut up.” He grumbles, “I thought we were gonna die.”

Ryuji laughs and Akira feels his cheeks burn. Next thing he knows his hand is being pried from the crook of his elbow.

“Chill.” Ryuji says, gently tugging his hand out. “I get it.”

His hand wraps around Akira’s. Nothing happens.

They stand there for a beat, holding hands.

“Like this.” Akira mumbles. He lets go, repositioning his fingers to fit in between Ryuji’s.

They stand, holding hands. Their fingers intertwined and hands sweaty. Nothing happens.

Akira thinks he might die on the spot.

“Uh don’t sweat it.” Ryuji stammers. “Let’s find a way into the castle and try to get some dirt on Kamoshida! Maybe we’ll figure it out on the way?”

“Let’s go.” Akira replies immediately. 

It doesn’t take long for them both to drift towards an inconspicuous pile of boxes left of the gate. A small opening at the top of the pile.

“Do you remember this?” Akira asks. 

“Yeah. I punched it out.” 

Something about that response makes Akira frown. 

“We?” Ryuji supplants. Akira doesn’t know why all these sound off.

“They??” Ryuji sounds strained.

“We.” Ryuji settles on, he sounds like he’s walking on eggshells.

“I remember things that I don’t think ever happened in my life.” Akira says.

“Me too.” Ryuji whispers. 

They look at each other for a moment. 

Akira starts climbing up the boxes first.

This foray into the castle is a little hiccupy. The first suit of armour they run into, Akira’s hand shoots out to grab Ryuji’s hand. Ryuji’s offended squawking at the contact is loud enough to draw the armour’s attention. Forget he ever tried.

Akira’s the one shouting at the next suit of armour they see because out of nowhere Ryuji’s knuckles are slamming into his. He glares at Ryuji.

On the third they maintain eye contact while very deliberately placing their palms against each other and interlocking fingers.

Eventually they get a smooth operation going. A high five perfectly positioned and then they lace their fingers together in seconds. Akira doesn’t know if it’s still about fusing but it’s fun anyway. 

The armour is a constant but so far there’s no sign of Kamoshida, no sign of the volleyball team. Until they stumble into the main hall where they entered the castle the first time.

Even then it’s just the hideous portrait on the wall.

Both Akira and Ryuji speed up their pace in the main hall.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Ryuji mutters. A shiver trickles down Akira’s neck. 

As if on cue there’s a loud puff, engulfing them in black smoke. 

Akira reaches out and Ryuji’s hand extends to meet his. Then it just stops.

He tries to jostle it further with his upper arm, his shoulder, his body. All to no avail. His still arm puts on a mime show that fills him with a sickly dread. Ryuji appears to have the same problem, if him using opposite hand to tug and shove at his dead arm is any indication.

A pulse reverberates throughout his body. In that moment, Akira gets hit with the worst pain of his life.

“Do you regret what you did?”

What? It’s difficult to think when it feels like his very eyeballs are tensing against the sensory onslaught.

Another lash of agony has Akira screaming, and all his muscles seize. Tendons snapping and popping, small explosions burning in their wake. He sees a blond tuft writhing on the floor out the corner of his eye.

Two figures underneath a dim streetlight. Their voices pierced through the dark night in suburbia.

_Get in the car_

“I’d do it all the same,” he rasps. It sounds like he’s begging for his life, another shock twists his frame. He’d fall to his knees if his suspended arm would let him.

“I’d do it again!” Slightly more confident. “And again!”

“Very well.”

A crow of a laughing booming in his ears is all the warning he gets before the wind whips up around them. Clearing the smoke and revealing the enemy’s true form. 

Akira’s arm is released.

With that he’s falling into Ryuji.

“Vow to me!”

They open their eyes.

“Zio.” Their voice rumbles, low and gravelly. 

Before him stands a pair of two-horned beasts and a cavalryman supporting them. One of the beasts gives the barest quiver at the crackling in their fist. Small tell as it may be it’s more than enough for their enhanced senses.

Bracing their hand to the cool metal on their face they rain vengeance upon one. It dissolves into the ichor right then. Leaving them with enough thunder to bring the hammer down on the other beast, taking them both out and leaving the knight open. 

Unfortunately the cavalryman is not nearly as susceptible to their shocking charms as its compatriots. They curse under their breath. 

They get in a solid hit with the nail-studded bat that mysteriously appeared in their possession. The damage inflicted isn’t great, but not so pitiful that they don’t stand a chance. 

However what does make Tactical Retreat tantalising in that very moment is the roiling ocean of black quickly flanking them. Wave after wave of the two-horned beast jockey to trap them. 

They can. 

A small but steadily growing voice implores them to leave. 

They-

Can’t bring Kamoshida down if they’re dead.

They will regroup and return.

***

Akira grips the duvet and stares up. The dark eventually melds away to where he can see the ceiling.

_Do you regret what you did?_

No, that much Akira was sure of. But at what cost?

_“Damn brat, I’ll sue!”_

Akira grips the duvet and counts every wood beam supporting the ceiling.

Shiho.

Suddenly a lump springs in his throat, choking him. So tense that it feels like it’ll snap, he can’t breathe, can’t move. His eyes water. 

Why him?

When he runs of beams to count, he stares at the wood grain on each beam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this idea came about from me misunderstanding every anime ive seen on a fundamental level. I'm trying to steward us all past the opening slog as fast as I can but it's hard.


	3. Commit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira supposes his talents are a boon in their own way and united with his friends it makes them all stronger.

Akira opens his eyes.

There’s a stone wall, manacles on his wrists, shadows on the wall suggesting he’s in a cage and god damn it. They lied, Akira knew they would lie. He’s done ended up in juvy. 

He rolls off the cot and takes in the room. 

A spooky set of twins stands at the foot of his cell, an elderly man with a huge nose sits behind a desk. Akira’s pretty sure that’s a guillotine off in the corner.

“Trickster… Welcome to my Velvet Room.”

The girl on the left speaks up. “The you in the real world is fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream.”

Akira’s juvy nightmares have taken a strange and violent turn.

“You’re in the presence of our Master. Stand up straight and look smart! Inmate!” The girl on his right snaps.

The man with long nose looks around the room with beady eyes. “This place reflects the state of your heart, and what an interesting reflection indeed.”

Interesting his ass. “Let me out.” Akira says, tugging at the bars and jangling his manacles against the metal.

Akira’s eyes catch a woosh, right after he yanks his hands away from the bars there’s a clang and a sizzle. A really violent turn.

“Have some respect inmate, you better listen when our Master is speaking!”

Akira looks down. The girl on the right is the bad cop, if the smoke still trailing from her cattle prod is any indication.

He looks back to the guillotine, and the electric chair that he missed earlier. Nose man follows his gaze.

“We will discuss those in the future,” he says. Akira feels a mirth in his tone, his manacles glint tauntingly.

“For now I will grant you this.” He waves his hand and a bright light descends upon Akira. 

“You would do well to think of impending ruin and your place in the world.” He waves his hand. “We shall meet again.”

With that, Akira feels his head spiral.

***

Today the lights are brighter, colours vivid, sounds are louder, smells are sniffier. Something’s been pulling at him since he left Leblanc that morning. He’d indulged that pull once he safely got on the train.

The results had been disturbing.

If he narrowed his eyes just right he could tune out the hustle and bustle of Shibuya, except for a select few things. Certain people just stood out, people that were deep in conversation.

Akira had decided he had engaged with it enough then. He’ll take it as it goes.

“Ryuji,” Akira gasps, tapping Ryuji’s arm and he stops talking. 

Two boys wander up to the vending machines, absently chattering about how all the Dr. Salt in the other machine had run out. 

When they leave Ryuji raises an eyebrow, “you’re real good at that. Were you the lookout or something at home?”

Akira shakes his head. All the abilities he’s gained are peculiar to say the least. Not that Ryuji being able to rain lightning and beat the shine off any suit of armour they encountered made any more sense.

“Are you sure you weren’t on the baseball team? You’re real good with that bat.” He mutters.

“If the batting cage counts.”

This doesn’t feel like an effective use of their time.

It’s a concern that’s difficult to voice when his partner in crime is so enthusiastic about their newfound agency… In an arguably dream world.

Those bruises and scrapes sure as hell aren’t dreams though.

Also Akira doesn’t know exactly what he’d say. It’d be heinous to just do _nothing_ and they’ve already had the conversation about the efficacy of going to an adult.

The bell rings. 

“I’ll be seeing you.” 

Ryuji’s eyes tell him that seeing him after school on the rooftop is gonna happen so don’t try to worm out of it. Ryuji’s smile tells him that he doesn’t have anything to be scared of.

Akira smiles and waves. 

After school they don’t make it to the roof.

Akira steps out of the classroom and Ryuji is right there next to the stairwell. In that moment everything is okay. He tunes out the whispering in the hallway it’s any other day. He’s meeting his bestie after school to hang out.

They walk to the vending machine section by the school gate. A few conversations about their respective afternoons later the front gate has cleared out, the influx of students walking to the station slowing to a trickle. 

Through all this follows a little itch on the back of Akira’s neck, it’s probably nothing.

Akira and Ryuji look at each other and nod. This time Ryuji hits the matching red icon on his own phone.

The world around them melts. The itch persists.

Every time it’s faster. This time when the castle springs up Ryuji and Akira are already in their ‘battle outfits’.

He looks to himself and then to Ryuji. There had been a costume change the last time they had joined. He recalls the feeling of cool metal on his face, which is in line with Ryuji’s skull mask.

However they definitely were not wearing black the last time they were here.

Akira opens and closes his fists, he’s not sure about these red gloves either. 

“Lookin’ good.” 

He looks up at Ryuji. “You too.” He reaches for his mask.

“Wait.”

His hands still.

“What if Kamoshida remembers all this. I mean we remember everything that happens here, what’s to say he doesn’t?”

Another idea in a rapidly growing pile of concerns Akira has yet to tackle. It sounds farfetched but nothing about Kamoshida’s appearance seemed off other than the yellow eyes. Heck they’d gone through weirder physiological changes. It could be him, Akira doesn’t know.

“Keep the mask on.”

Akira keeps the mask on.

When they climb into the castle Akira’s hand flies to his head. Shibuya station had already been headache inducing, the castle has his skin bristling. 

They cross a doorframe and the vase on the side screams out at him. He can’t control his fist plunging itself straight at the vase, shattering it.

“Bro what.” 

Akira also can’t stop the grin twisting his face. Beaming at Ryuji he proudly raises the fork he found.

He can see Ryuji biting his cheek. “Uh… Just be careful.”

Akira nods and puts the fork in his bag.

On this tour there’s way less jitter to their movements, save for the times Akira punched boxes and ornaments for junk. There isn’t the pressing need to attempt a fusion at every encounter and there’s a lazy line to Ryuji’s shoulders. The castle is a lot less scary now that they have some reliable form of defence.

Well Ryuji mostly.

Akira twirls the dagger that had shown up with the wardrobe change. Watching Ryuji pummelling enemies into dust or shocking them into submission is awe-inspiring. As for Akira’s own skills…

Akira touches his mask and turns his attention to the enemy that looks like a fairy. He concentrates and a darkness swirls down around the fairy, swallowing it.

There’s a scream cut short, when the red and black clears there’s nothing left.

Oh no. Akira lightly covers his mouth. Maybe he won’t use that one again.

In another encounter he tries concentrating in a different way. The two sentient jack-o-lanterns they’re up against shudder, but otherwise don’t react.

“Oi quit effing around!” Ryuji yells from his side. Another skill that Akira will be retiring. 

Ryuji dives in for the kill and all of them, pumpkins included watch in horror as Ryuji bats one of the jack-o-lanterns back into the nether.

“I can’t move ho!” The survivor cries.

“Who’s a ho!?” Ryuji growls and grabs the pumpkin by the collar.

“Hee!” It shrieks.

“Ryuji wait.”

Akira walks up to the jack-o-lantern. Now might not be the best time to glean information from it considering the unspeakable things they’ve done to the pumpkin’s brother. However if the pumpkin indeed can’t move like it claims this might be the best chance they have. 

“Where can we find Kamoshida?” Might as well start simple, keep it broad.

“Dunno.”

Ryuji shakes the pumpkin.

“Hee! I’m not sure but it I think something’s happening at the gate ho. They found the princess ho. All the guards are over there.”

“Princess?” 

Ryuji lets go of the pumpkin and it quickly skitters off. “What do you think?”

Akira shrugs, they’d come to stir shit and this princess and guard gathering sounded like an alright place to start.

They aren’t too far from the gate but the main hall is huge. The last time they were outnumbered in the main hall went poorly, and this time they already have someone explicitly telling them security will be tight.

“Is this some kind of weird film set!? Let me go!”

A loud clatter of metal crashing into carpet from far away interrupts them.

The princess and main hall will have to wait.

Upon returning to the medieval barracks they passed Ryuji swears under his breath. The room is already full of guards again. 

Since his youth Akira’s had this voice inside telling him to hot dog it when in doubt. Over the years the voice had only become more brazen. Generally it didn’t go great whenever he did choose to listen. The last time he’d listened it’d brought him to Tokyo after all. 

However sometimes it’s just so difficult to think, and they don’t have time.

Akira taps Ryuji’s arm. “Stay close,” he says softly. 

Then he’s gone.

Like a cat slinking through tight spaces Akira contorts himself. Time slows to a crawl as he bends himself, spreads himself flat against a pillar until he blends in with the very shadows. He hardly breathes. 

This morning he avoided the instinct in Shibuya station like the plague, now he submerges himself in it.

He feels an opening and zips to the next pillar, swift as the crack of a whip. By some miracle Ryuji is still with him. 

That’s how they traverse the wide room. By the time they near the other side Akira mostly does it with his eyes shut. This newfound sense of shiny trinkets and combat prowess of monsters doesn’t seem to rely a whole lot on vision, or more like a different kind of vision. 

Ryuji opens the door and Akira slips in after, gently shutting the door behind him. They’re back in the three-pronged hallway.

“I’m sorry about the armour but can you please tell me what’s happening?”

The voice is louder.

“What the heck…? How did she get in here?” Ryuji mumbles absently.

Both of them run now but halt at the fallen armour in the middle hallway branch. That door had been locked before, but if they have to get in there then they have to get in there.

Akira kicks the door open.

He doesn’t know he expected to see but the scene inside still throws him for a loop. 

Pants Kamoshida cowers in the corner, blubbering something. The topic changes too fast for Akira to keep up with.

Trapping him in the corner is Ann in bright red latex holding the longest sword he’s ever seen in his life. Staggering closer and closer. 

“You’re gonna tell everyone what you did.”

Her voice is quiet, it still shakes Akira like the roar of a tiger.

Another shaky step closer and Kamoshida’s face slackens, the trembling stops and he stands up straight.

“I didn’t want to do this, especially not to someone who resembles my dear princess.” Kamoshida shrugs, “but those ingrates know no reason. I have to defend myself.”

When Kamoshida’s voice starts sounding like it’s been put through a vocoder with no external indication such is happening Akira arches a brow. When shadowy black and red vines sprout from the ground and coalesce around him he starts scanning the room for options.

One hand reaches for his dagger, the other inches towards Ryuji’s hand.

There’s a dull thud.

“Move!” Ann growls. Stabbing the sword into the floor she tugs and tugs but her legs won’t budge. She leaves one hand on the sword, the other forcefully shoving her knee into straightening out. 

Both Ryuji and Akira drop their hands and turn around.

“Ann?” Akira kneels down, “can you lean on me and Ryuji?”

She shakes her head.

Akira peeks back and whatever’s happening with Kamoshida his form has almost reached the ceiling. They can’t take that on. 

“We’ll make him pay,” Akira pleads. “We’ll come back.” He cocks his head towards Kamoshida’s morphing form, “but we have to do it when we’re at one hundred percent.”

She reaches for his hand, fingers sliding in between his easy.

There’s a flash of blinding light.

***

They open their eyes.

Hair tickles their neck. A sensation that’s new and itchy yet one they’ve known all their life.

Behind them it sounds like the very maw of the earth is opening up, a terrible metal on metal scraping sound. 

They yank the sword out of the ground and hurl it at Kamoshida.

“Ryuji let’s go!” They take off running the best that they can. They’re still not great but their legs aren’t utter dead weight like a moment ago.

Ryuji takes the lead and they make it out of the castle in fairly short order. Nearly every time they’ve had to leave has ended in them being chased out so naturally they’ve gotten pretty good at it. 

At the gate they pull out their phone. 

“Hey wait. Is that a good idea?”

“What do you mean?” 

Ryuji fidgets. “Shouldn’t you try to separate before we leave?”

An awful bellow sounds from within the castle.

“No time.” Tap.

_“You are now leaving the metaverse.”_

The world melts away, they look down and watch their black latex melt along with it. The sun comes out and just like that they’re back.

“Oh shit!” Ryuji whispers, batting at their arm. “Akira spit her out!”

They look at Ryuji.

“Spit him out?? Arrgh!” Ryuji takes a deep breath. “Look your uniform- your-”

He grunts and crouches down. They crouch down next to Ryuji. 

“You’re gonna catch a lot of attention.” He sighs, “I’m gonna go to the vending machine for drinks. Try to be two people when I come back.” 

“Nothing carbonated.” They say from where they’re crouched.

Ryuji looks at them for a moment, then leaves.

Akira tries to stand, his legs feel like butter. He’s heavy and sore and disorientated all around. Ann doesn’t seem to be doing much better, if her clutching the wall is anything to go by.

Ryuji comes back and gawks at him. “Oh I didn’t expect you to actually do it.”

“I let go.” Akira mumbles. By now Ann has herself up.

Ryuji passes them both earl green and Akira frowns. 

“They were out of dr salt?”

“You said you didn’t want anything carbonated.”

Akira hunches over, glaring at his earl green. Ann pats his shoulder, “it’s probably for the best.”

He can’t say that makes him feel any better.

Ann stands up, hitches her bag, then pulls out her phone. “I won’t ask you to tell me everything right now, but we’re going back and you won’t shake me off. Give me your phone numbers and chat IDs.”

They exchange contact information and Ann leaves with a smile and a wave. 

Akira follows shortly after, his legs are gonna fall off if he doesn’t take a break soon.

Another evening. Mr. Sakura says something about keeping his country boy hooligan shit out of Tokyo when Akira returns to Leblanc. That’s not exactly what he says but that’s how it feels.

He throws himself into bed and his eyelids collapse under the weight of the day.

“Finally, I’ve found you.”

Nope.

“Been looking for you ever since you stumbled into the palace with blondie. You’re both a mess.”

It sounds important but he feels too heavy. He can’t open his eyes.

“But there’s a lot of potential here. I’ll tell you what you need to do. We’ll make a good team you and I.”

With that Akira passes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know these chapters and endings are a little weird but still I'm doing this in arcs as a series bc i have a deep seated fear of big long chaptered fics.
> 
> Believe it or not I actually do have a set of rules I established for this AU but I'm having a really hard time following them : C

**Author's Note:**

> Building up to the wilder parts is difficult : /


End file.
